New TECH-U VC resumes May
By The proflee9ja.com.ng On Mar 10, 2022
The Governing Council of the First Technical University, Ibadan has appointed Prof. Adesola Ajayi to succeed the pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami.
A statement by the Pro-Tem Council Chairman, Prof. Olanike Adeyemo, noted that the appointment follows the Council’s consideration of the recommendation of the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board at its Special Meeting on Monday. The appointment, for a single term of five years will take effect from May 9.
Ajayi came tops after a rigorous exercise in accordance with the university’s establishment laws.
The vacancy for the position was announced in daily newspapers on December 6, 2021 and out of 14 professors that applied for the position, eight were shortlisted and invited for interaction with the Joint Council-Senate Selection Board which met on March 2 and 3, 2022.
Ajayi, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the university, is a Professor of Crop Science. He obtained B.Agric. in Plant Science (First Class Honours) with the best overall result in the Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1991.
He also obtained from the same University the M.Phil. (Plant Science) degree with specialisation in Plant Breeding/Seed Production in 1997. He bagged the Doctor of Agricultural Science (Dr. sc. agr.) in Seed Biology from Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, Germany in 2003.
Ajayi has won several scholarships, fellowships, honours and awards among which are Climate Impacts Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement Programme (CIRCLE) Champion Award by CIRCLE Visiting Fellows (CVF), 2021; Green Award by the National Association of Agricultural Students (NAAS, OAU, Ile-Ife) as the most-liked lecturer in the Department of Crop Production and Protection, OAU, Ile-Ife (2017); DAAD Re-Invitation Fellowship (2007); Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship, IPGRI (2002); Professor Werner Schulze Fellowship for young Agricultural Scientists, Federal Agricultural Research Centre, Braunschweig, Germany (2000); DAAD Scholarship for doctoral studies in Germany (1999); Dr. Sunday Aribisala scholarship for the best MSc Agricultural graduate from Nigerian Universities recommended for a PhD Programme, IITA (1998); Ebony Award for being the student with the highest Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in the Faculty of Agriculture (1990) and Obafemi Awolowo University Scholarship for Outstanding students (1989).
Ajayi was appointed as Graduate Assistant at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife on December 15, 1993 and promoted to the rank of Professor on October 1, 2010. He was Visiting Scholar at Pioneer Hi-bred International, Pandorf, Austria (2000-2002); Postdoctoral Fellow at Cell Biology Research Unit, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa (2003-2005). He has also been Visiting Scholar at Goethe University, Frankfurt, am Main, Germany (2013); Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK (2003); Maize Improvement Program, IITA, Ibadan (2011); and Agricultural Productivity Director, Winrock International/USAID-Nigeria Bridge to MARKETS II Project (2011).